Rocco's road not all paved with golfing fun

AP PhotoRocco Mediate acknowledges the gallery on Thursday during the Buick Open.

GRAND BLANC -- Rocco Mediate was mortified.

Children were all around, and a woman cloaked in a crowd at hole No. 8 at Warwick Hills directed words at Mediate that were, in his words, not just off-color, but disgusting.

"If I had been able to see her I would have had her thrown out immediately," he said after completing his third round in the Buick Open on Saturday. "(It was aimed) at me. It was nauseating, disgusting. When she reads about it (in the newspaper) she will be proud of herself. With kids all around, it's not right."

One of Rocco's pet phrases is that "it's all good."

And he played well in the third round, shooting a 5-under-par 67 to get to 9-under-par for the tournament.

In addition, 99.9 percent of the fans at Warwick Hills were great to him, still applauding him at every turn for his dramatic second to Tiger Woods in a 19-hole playoff in the recent U.S. Open.

That woman ticked him off, though, and he felt the need to point it out.

"There's always someone who tries to ruin it," he said.

Mediate, 45, a 24-year pro, past champion here at the Buick Open (2000) and a five-time winner over the years, is learning the price of true fame, as in almost-Tiger Woods fame. It has an ugly side, too.

"I don't get people like that," he said, "saying something that would make you sick."

Plus, this fame thing, is tiring. Everybody wants a piece of him. He used to receive a lot of interview requests simply because he was affable and knowledgeable.

Now, it's the "Tonight Show" one night, a television crew around every corner and interviews even when he is seven shots off the lead and too tired to do anything about it.

"I'm still toast," he said.

And yet, he is still smiling, and still not quite, well, Tiger famous.

A man walked up to a woman on a chair near the clubhouse just after Mediate had made his nine-hole turn Saturday.

"I just got my picture taken with Tiger," he said.

"How's that?" she asked, clearly aware Woods and his injured leg are not here.

"A virtual picture over there in that tent," he said.

Then he switched gears with a question.

"Did you see Rocky?"

"Yes, but what's his last name?"

"Moderate," he said.

Rocky Moderate, Rocco Mediate, hmmm.

He's not Tiger, but at a Buick Open with just three of the top 30 players on the PGA Tour in attendance, he's the man this week.

"I'm just learning to deal with all the stuff going on that you're obligated to do," Mediate said. "You have to do a lot of stuff -- that's part of the deal and I didn't even win. That's the whole thing, it's absolutely amazing.

"Usually you get a big trophy with (attention like this). I would have carried it all week, I wouldn't have taken it out of my sight. It was good though, the people have been remarkable. It's been great."

The disgusting incident at No. 8 was the only thing that marred his third round, his week really. He even enjoyed the usual rowdy scene at No. 17.

"You shoulda won," somebody yelled.

"I was trying," Mediate yelled back.

The Buick Open, and golf for that matter, isn't near as interesting without Woods around. The world's best player is a huge thing to miss.

The golf continues though, and it's still entertaining with Rocco in the house. He said he wasn't going to let the woman at No. 8 ruin his day, week or year, and others shouldn't either.

It's good advice from a guy who worries about what our children hear and wears a peace sign belt buckle, too.